


If you put two and two together

by Simply_Laura



Category: Klaus (2019)
Genre: F/M, Falling In Love, Flowers, Forget-Me-Not, Friendship, Heartbreak, Letters, Listen to I'm Still Here by Vertical Horizon for extra dramatic effect :D, Love, Love Confessions, Love Letters, Pressed flowers, Romance, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 00:41:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29462940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Simply_Laura/pseuds/Simply_Laura
Summary: you get five, right?[JesperxAlva. Little bit of KlausxLydia]
Relationships: Alva/Jesper Johanssen, Jesper Johanssen & Klaus, Klaus/Lydia (Klaus 2019)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	If you put two and two together

The snow scrunched underneath Jesper's feet on another crisp, glorious Smeernsburgian morning. He was on his route, carrying a bagful of mail among multiple other items. Anywhere else in the world, a postman would have a lighter load as he stopped at each house, but in what is now a delightful Smeernsburg; that isn't the case. Jesper grew accustomed to being asked to drop off berry jam jars, flowers, books, and all kinds of things whenever he stopped between houses. It stretched the length of his journey and made his fingers grow numb at times, but he gladly did it. Having the chance to witness these acts of kindness spark over the small town put a smile on his face. People were exchanging gifts and nice things every single day (giving Jesper his share of those as well). A church was now sprouting around what was once a battle bell, and nowhere else were children so excited about going to school.

In fact, as soon as Christmas day was over, the children rushed back to the school building. Alva had tried to explain that this was their time off from studying, that they are free to go and play or sleep in. Instead of running off to doing just that, they stood there pleading with big, disappointed eyes. With a smile and shake of her head, Alva gave in and opened the classroom door.

Jesper hadn't seen much of Alva since Christmas. During the last few weeks, she was always busy preparing lessons, teaching in the mornings, and even on weekends, but today he finally had an excuse to see her.

"Addressed to Alva!" A wide grin spread across his face as he pulled a letter from his bag.

"Awww, delivering love letters, how sweet!" Mogens appeared out of nowhere with batted eyes and clasped hands. Jesper groaned and rolled his eyes before pushing the school door open.

Rays of sunlight poured through the class' windows and nested in that small room. It looked so different from that first day Jesper walked into it. It certainly smelled different. Sometimes Jesper forgot that the girl with disheveled hair and angry eyes who held a knife to his face is the same one who now has her hair tied neatly with a ribbon, wearing clean bright clothes and a warm smile.

"Multiplication isn't really as complicated as it sounds," Alva scribbled '2x2' on the chalkboard, "because you clever bunch already know that if you put two and two together you get– "

"You get five, right?" Jesper stated loudly, sending the room into rapturous laughter.

"No, Mr. Postman!" one kid said between giggles, "It's four!"

"No! Are you sure?" He counted his fingers. "Don't tease me now!"

Alva tapped her foot and cleared her throat. A hint of a smile was playing on her lips.

"Alright class," she called their attention back to her, "try to work this next one out and I'll be with you in a minute." She walked to the back where Jesper was. "And I thought I was lucky enough not to have a class clown." She rolled her tired eyes playfully.

"Morning, Miss Alva." Jesper grinned, pulling Alva's letter out. "I just came to deliver– "

Before he could finish, Alva had snatched the letter, tore it open, and was already scanning its contents intently, her fingers tracing over the lines eagerly.

Jesper watched her eyes race back and forth across the piece of paper. "Looks important." He commented.

"Mmhmm." Alva absently nodded. A big smile slowly crept on her face as she read on. "Thank you, Jesper." She folded it back and tucked it in her pocket with a pat.

"A friend of yours?"

"Yes." She beamed. "I wish I could chat, but I need to get back." She motioned her head towards the classroom.

"Alva, aren't you tired? You hardly had time off." He looked at the children and whispered, "You know you could just send them home."

Alva laughed and shook her head, "If only it was as easy as that. I've already tried, you know."

"Miss Alva!" Annelisse called.

"Duty calls." Alva sighed and patted Jesper's arm before walking away. "Yes, Annelisse?"

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Evening had gently tiptoed over the little town. The stars were just starting to come out. Jesper looked down at his feet as they creased the snow beneath him. He brushed a hand over his face. "That didn't exactly go the way I thought it would." He sat on the creaking wooden steps of the Post Office, squeezing his eyes shut and stretching his legs with a groan.

"Hello Jesper!" said a familiar voice.

"Wait! Don't tell me!" He smiled, his eyes still closed. "Margu!" He glanced over to the little girl.

She laughed and rested her hands on his arm, "Mii gullo?"

"Well," Jesper set his hat aside and took a deep breath, "you see, I was supposed to tell Alva that she's working too much, and she was supposed to agree that she is. Then, I was supposed to convince her to take some time off, which she was supposed to think is a good idea, and maybe then I could have had a moment to tell her– "

"Diet don ráhkestit su?"

"Yes, exactly." Jesper sighed.

They both sat quietly for a minute as the wind whistled through the barren trees. The postman rested his chin in his hand, absently tracing patterns on the wooden step.

Jesper suddenly froze. "Wait! That letter…" He sat up. "What if…?" He let out a shaky foggy breath and watched it float before him and drift into the wind. "…and I delivered it with my own hands?!"

He scrambled to his feet and ran frantically around, nearly tripping over things that weren't there. It was so obvious! How did he not notice it there and then? How Alva's tired eyes flickered like a pair of candles once she caught sight of the letter in his hand, the way she practically glowed when she read it. Read it? More like devoured it! Could he be more stupid? Even Mogens knew it! And to think he had written to his father only yesterday asking him to visit because–

A gentle tug at his coat interrupted his thoughts. He glanced over to see Margu, whom he had momentarily forgotten was there, holding up a letter and a penny. Jesper took them and flipped the envelope reading where it was addressed to.

S.A., St. Mary's Catholic School, Vasa, Finland. "What?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Alva." Margu explained.

"Asked you to give me this?" He pointed to the letter.

Margu nodded. Jesper tapped the letter on his nose with furrowed brows. Margu could almost hear gears clicking inside his head. He was muttering something to himself, walking back and forth, trying to work out what to make out of this new addition to the equation. Why would Alva write to a school on the other side of the ocean? It doesn't make sense. She herself said it would be stupid to leave this place now. Alva loved teaching, and she loved her students, even if it meant working non-stop.

Working non-stop…

Plus the letter earlier today…

"Oh, no, no, no." It all adds up! How and when did all this happen? Jesper's mind raced back to that November night. Standing next to Alva underneath the open sky in a brand new Smeernsburg, for the first time in his life he felt that he truly belonged. He was sure she shared this feeling. Something ached within him as he silently cursed whoever it was who wrote Alva that letter. Oh, how he hated him!

He sighed, clutching his hair. If he stood there for another minute thinking this over by himself, he'll go mad. Talking to the little Sami girl always helped him put his thoughts in order, but at that moment, the thought of hearing a word he can understand sounded so comforting. It will help pull him from this mess and back to earth.

"Klaus." He decided. "I need Klaus."

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Klaus studied his friend. Something wasn't right. Ever since Christmas, the smile that Klaus knew all too well never left Jesper, but there was no trace of it tonight. Instead of the bright, animated postman he knew, a slouched, unusually quiet man was now sitting across from him. Jesper had been avoiding his gaze for the past half hour, having seemingly discovered a newfound interest in watching the crackling embers of the fireplace. Every now and then he opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out, so instead he would raise his cup of tea to his dry mouth, or shuffle in his seat.

Klaus cleared his throat, causing Jesper to finally glance towards him.

"Uh…Everything alright?" He asked carefully.

"Mmhmm, yes, of course." Jesper nodded with an unconvincing smile.

The truth is Jesper found his predicament too embarrassing to explain. Saying it out loud would mean publicly admitting he has been a fool, which isn't exactly news to Klaus, but twice in one month was humiliating.

"So," Jesper set his teacup aside and looked at Klaus with a teasing grin, "tell me about your new hobby."

"What?"

"I didn't know you pressed flowers." Jesper pointed at a small jug sitting on top of the fireplace carrying small blue flowers.

Klaus looked at it and blinked. "I don't." He gazed at it fondly.

"Oh?"

"Lydia did."

"…Oh." Jesper felt as if he'd been punched in the stomach. He didn't mean to remind his friend of his loss. He fiddled with his sleeve trying to think of a way to change the subject.

"Forget-me-nots." Klaus smiled.

"Pardon?"

"The flowers. They're forget-me-nots."

"Ah." Jesper fidgeted uncomfortably.

After a moment Klaus chuckled, "You see, when I met Lydia, I was…I wasn't very brave." He scratched his neck shyly. "I couldn't tell her. So, uh, well, I wrote her a letter."

Jesper fought a smile, resting his head on his hand. The image of Klaus being timid despite his intimidatingly large size amused him.

"And she wrote back?"

Klaus nodded, "She had this pigeon, and she used to press flowers and send them with her letters."

"Hm..." Jesper smiled. He had the look of a child's wonder after hearing a fairy tale. He watched Klaus as he slowly got up and picked a single stalk of flowers from the jug before holding it out to him.

"No! Klaus, I-I can't. They're Lydia's!" Jesper waved his hands in front of him in protest.

"Oh, come on, Jesper! Just give it a try!"

The postman blinked. "What?" Was Klaus actually suggesting that he "…Eat them?!"

Klaus's eyebrows slowly rose. He chuckled, then his shoulders shook when he burst out laughing.

"Hoooooo! Hoooooo! Hoooo!" There it was, Jesper thought, that ridiculous laugh again.

"No!" he said between laughs, trying to collect himself, "Send a letter!" Klaus firmly grasped Jesper's wrist and placed the flowers in his palm. Jesper stared at them blankly before looking up at Klaus, silently asking for an explanation.

"You just might receive a reply." Klaus patted Jesper's shoulder.

Jesper looked back at the flowers thoughtfully.

Well, what has he got to lose?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"There!" Alva was kneeling on the floor, wrapping a scarf around the little boy's neck. The rest of the children had just left the building, running about in the streets that were now tinted a rosy colour, throwing snowballs at each other in the schoolyard, shouting and playing loudly. "You're all warm and ready to go." She pulled the child's hat back slightly so it wasn't covering his eyes.

"So there won't be school next week?"

Alva rolled her eyes, this must be the tenth time she confirmed this today. "Yes, Kristoff. There won't be school next week."

"But why?!"

"Because," she took a deep breath, "I have a friend coming to visit next week."

Also because she decided Jesper was right, she needed a break. Desperately.

Kristoff nodded, looking at the ground forlornly.

"Off you go now." Alva guided him to the door with a pat on his back before his sad looks could change her mind. She stood and turned to face the stairs. The thought of her bed waiting for her at the top was so inviting. She was ready to flop down on it and doze off.

"Miss Alva?" Kristoff called.

Alva shut her eyes and held back a groan. If he asks her about next week again! She loved her students, but there were moments when they tested her patience.

"Ye-e-es, Kristoff?" She said through her teeth.

"Um, I found this by the door." The little boy said hesitantly, holding up an enveloped letter to his teacher.

"Oh." Alva's frustration faded. "Thank you."

"Bye Miss Alva!" he cried, skittering past her.

Alva looked outside, scanning the passerbys. She flipped the envelope over in her hands. It didn't have a stamp or anything addressed on it. It wasn't delivered by a postman, then. Alva closed the door and slumped against it with a tired sigh. She opened the envelope to find a small stalk of bright blue flowers and a letter. She unfolded the paper and read it:

_Dear Alva,_

_I am writing this letter because I wanted to remind you of something you once told me: "It would be pretty stupid to leave this place now."_

_The children love you. Klaus loves you. Everyone loves you._

Alva's eyes wandered over a few blotched out and crossed off lines that followed before she read the next line.

_I love you._

_If that doesn't change your mind, and I don't expect it to, all I ask is that you don't forget us. I know I won't forget you._

_Yours,_

_Jesper_

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Last night, Jesper thought he had nothing to lose. Today, he came to the realisation that he did.

His dignity. Or at least whatever's left of it.

Since the moment he slipped his letter underneath the school's door as inconspicuously as possible, after having checked the area for any signs of sarcastic ferrymen, he thought this was a bad idea. Alva is a strong woman with strong arms which she wouldn't hesitate to use, he knew that for a fact. Then it hit him. When she finds out that he knows her secrets, she might assume he had been reading her mail. Jesper gulped. Maybe he should head back and retrieve it. Say he delivered it to the wrong address or something. Yes, that's what he'll do. The faster he goes, the less the chances are of her having read it.

Jesper raced back towards the school, gasping for breath as he slipped past the semi-constructed church. He could feel his heart pounding to the tips of his ears. "Please don't let her see it! Please don't let her see it!"

"You idiot!"

She saw it. Jesper halted and gasped loudly. Alva was heading towards him, his letter and flowers in her hand.

"Alva! Let me explain!" Jesper raised his shaking hands in front of his face defensively, backing away and tripping over his own feet before landing on his back, knocking himself flat onto the ground.

Alva grabbed him by the collar of his coat. Jesper squeezed his eyes shut. There was no escape now. He braced himself for a broken nose, or a broken back, or some combination of the sort.

He was met with a gentle kiss instead.

Jesper opened his eyes. Alva stood there with a warm smile. A million questions raced through his mind.

For Alva, this week couldn't possibly get any better.

First, she receives a letter from Sister Annika who was not only her teacher, but the mother she never had, telling her that she's coming to visit Smeernsburg to meet this postman she wouldn't stop writing about. Alva was so excited and was quick to send a reply confirming the date and time of the ferry's arrival. She had told Sister Annika everything. How Klaus and Jesper brought joy and peace to this place she so desperately wanted to leave for five years. How Jesper had rekindled her dream when children unexpectedly showed up to school one day asking her to teach them.

And now, this letter.

She looked back at it and the stalk of flowers curiously. What exactly did this idiot mean about her forgetting him? Why did his words imply she was leaving?

"What did you expect?" She asked, genuinely intrigued. "Of course I love you."

A rush of heat shot through Jesper's cheeks. Did he hear bells ringing?

"Well, I guess that's why they call it a red letter!" Mogens remarked, standing by the now-church-bell.

**Author's Note:**

> There it is ladies and gentlemen. I had this sudden urge to write this when I couldn't sleep because it was so cold I felt like I was in Smeernsburg. I meant to upload this yesterday on Valentine's but I hadn't realised it takes time to create an account on here.
> 
> If you leave a comment, Klaus will add you to the nice list and bring you a toy. Jesper told me so himself. And he also likes cookies. Don't forget to leave some cookies. If you've stumbled across this in December and there are no reviews, that means I've been waiting 10 months for a review - make my day and leave me one, please? :3
> 
> Tell me if Jesper's conclusions are clear enough or if they left you confused. I added that "something ached within him" paragraph much later, I'm not so sure if it's necessary? As in, you guys already figured out his first assumption, there's no need for it to be repeated again here? Or does it help draw the two assumptions together to a conclusion? Let me know - I definitely overthought that paragraph!  
> Was anyone was out of character?
> 
> Thank you to my best friend for helping me out with choosing the title!
> 
> I obviously don't speak Sami, I got Margu's lines out of an online dictionary so it might be off. I also assumed Alva is an orphan because I don't think her parents would leave her in Smeernsburg for five years (unless they're horrible). I initially had Alva as Swedish, but I decided she's Finnish for very good reasons:  
> Firstly, _Christmas._ Need I say more?  
> Secondly, according to google searches, Finnish and Sami speakers are able to communicate to some extent. We have seen that Alva can understand Margu with some effort.  
> Thirdly, (and this is my favourite reason) Alva says "No homework!" :D Ha! Whether that was intentional or not on the filmmakers' part, I'm loving this theory and I'm sticking to it.
> 
> [I should also note that was how Vaasa was spelt back in the day. Fun fact, it had Finland's first library. How very appropriate!]
> 
> Although I referenced a rather dramatic song in the tags, I was hoping the ending gives off a happy feel. Kind of like the final chorus from "Summertime" by The Sundays - especially the line "as I turn my white skin red", I love that line! 
> 
> Thank you if you've made it through my ramblings so far! You deserve a cookie :D
> 
> To all the people stumbling across this in the future of Christmas 2021: Merry Christmas! You made it to the end of the year in one piece! Let's hope everyone is healthy and well :D Cheers!


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